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Wednesday, 5 November 2008

Dona nobis pacem 2008

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Dona nobis pacem ~ Grant us peace

Now I’ve been thinking about the world lately…

When I first decided to participate in the Peace Globe Project my first thought was “What does the word Peace actually mean?” Peace… it’s a word we fling about a lot, same as ‘Love’. For many people Peace means no wars, but no fighting does not automatically mean no violence or hatred. It’s possible to force people to behave and not fight, but that’s not peace – that’s intimidation. A lack of violence and aggression can be attained through apathy and weariness too, but that doesn’t make it Peace.

Sitting thinking about the word the song “Peace Train”, by Cat Stevens, kept running through my head. I went looking for the song online… and something interesting happened. I found a small film documentary on why Cat Stevens had become Yusuf Islam. In it Yusuf/Cat spoke about how he had moved from singing about changing the world to being more involved in real change, but how first of all he’d had to change himself - change from within.

The truth is as much as we may talk of Peace, pray for Peace or Blog for Peace, we can never achieve anything unless we start from the simple truth that it has to begin from within. You cannot change the world to change people – people have to change themselves in order to change their world.

There’s a lot that has been written about what needs to change in order for us to live in Peace. Some talk of forgiveness, some of Love, charity, empathy, patience, tolerance… there are lots of words associated Peace. Today I’d like to add my own choice; I’d like to add ‘ENOUGH’.

It’s not an obvious word to pick, but the more I look at the world today the more I feel that this might turn out to be a very important word for Peace in our planet’s future. It seems to me that the concept of ‘Not enough’ causes most of our planet’s wars and violence, or at very least the belief in ‘Not enough’. Not enough food, not enough oil, not enough land, not enough power, not enough religious dominance, not enough religious tolerance… humans have found many reasons to justify aggressive actions through ‘Not enough’.

We fear it too. We fear ‘Not enough’ terribly and that fear makes us miserly and cruel. Believing in ‘Not enough’ we hate those who we think have more than us today and we refuse to share, in case we might be in need tomorrow. We use it to justify our greed as well. We use it to rationalize taking from others. We believe we have the right to have MORE than enough.

As far as I can see, for this world to have enough Peace we first need to let go of this phrase ‘Not enough’ and all the fears and angers that surround it - in other words we have to learn how to share. The thing I like best about the word ‘share’ is that it implies equality and mutual respect. You ‘give’ charity and donations to those you consider lesser than you, you ‘take’ from those you resent or hate, but you share with those beside you. Sharing happens between equals, family and friends. More importantly - you don’t take from people you share with. You don’t take their lands, their lives, or their freedoms and you don’t hate, murder or go to war with them either.

We need to relearn our concept of what is ‘enough’. Enough is being happy with what you have and who you are and then sharing that happiness with the world around you. Enough comes from filling that fear of ‘Not enough’ within yourself first; of finding your own inner peace, each in our own unique and individual way. What fills your soul with ‘enough’ might be anything from creating Art, writing a novel, saving a whale, mothering a child, or following a religion, as Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam did.

We need to remove that dreadful phrase ‘Not enough’ from our mindset, because it links us back to always grasping for more - more money, more power, more wars… more than enough.

Had more than enough?

I have.

How about you?

Now come and join the giving,its not so hard to do.Throw your bread upon the waters,They will come back to you…...

The other day I felt stressed out due to the constant drive to have "A, B, C, D, E, F, etc." What changed my mind was when I read a daily devotional that says that we live not only for this world, but for AFTER we die...that really changes my perspective. I can actually feel my tensed muscles loosen up...and I feel at peace.

This post also reminds me of one of the most important things of all. THANK YOU for sharing!!! :-))))

Very good concept and oh, so true too -when do we have "enough?" And yep, to use a phrase frequently said of late in the states, "You betcha" that the concept of "not enough" does cause, create much if not most of the havoc in our society. Loved your peace globe too. Stop back and visit again.

I'm seeing a trend in the peace globe bloggers - a coaxing toward taking action. And Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam definitely shows us how his convictions led him to change. He's one of my husband's favorite singers, so I love this song, and especially the way he sings it.

This is a very thought-provoking post. My late friend Pam would agree with you wholeheartedly - she was a very active catalyst for change as someone who worked with government and industry to preserve the forests here in Nova Scotia. She always maintained that 'enough' was a word to worry about.

A very well thought out and written post!This Cat Stevens song is almost as old as I am and I've loved it forever. What is sad is that after all these years we are still needing peace.Loved your post and your globe!

I love your Peace Globe & message … much of what you’ve shared ‘resonates’ with my own thoughts about peace coming from within … changing the self rather than trying to change others … redefining ‘enough’ … surrendering and/or moving through fear. (Cat Stevens is a favorite of mine too).

Thich Nhat Hanh teaches that ‘Peace is in every step’ … a choice in every instant no matter what’s happening around or within us. As each of us blogs for peace today, we join our minds and hearts together to create this reality in our world by beginning within.Hugs and blessings,

I loved your peace post, Michelle!I so agree that we can't change the other person. In reality, we only have the power to change our own selves. That's the serenity prayer all over. I voiced a similar sentiment on my own peace post today.

Michelle, you have created an enchanting Peace Globe and written words with which I can resonate!

“Enough” is perfect word to go along with peace. There is a line in on of the Eucharistic prayers in the United Church of Christ, U.S.A. Book of Worship that reads: “We look to the day when sharing by all will mean scarcity for none.” Enough can be peace in many ways!

Wonderful post Michelle. You had me singing in my head when I read your globe. I never thought of dear old Cat, one of my very favourite singers and one of my very favourite songs. Peace be with you and your loved ones.

When you wrote:"You cannot change the world to change people – people have to change themselves in order to change their world."

That's exactly how I feel. That's why I chose the Ghandi quote that I did for my globe.

And you're right about "Enough" I think this word needs to happen at a young age as well. We're raising our children in an environment where more is better and that it's somehow okay to get every material thing that you want. NOT okay!

I'm a bit late to the peace party, Michelle, but had to pop in to congratulate you on your post.You got right to the heart of the matter!

I've ben distracted by the US election of late, but the result was the one I wanted from my first ever vote in the US. Let us hope that our new president will promote peace and sharing as energetically as the current one promoted war and greed.:-)

I missed this particular "Peace Wagon", but I've always been on the " Peace Train" ;-) Love that song too.

You've touched on so many true and fundamental points here Michelle - a beautifully written post. I think you have it absolutely spot-on. It's the percieved LACK of things that create strife, war and conflict.

It might seem obvious, but we need to learn how to focus on "what we've got", instead "what we haven't got" and we've got SO MUCH! - we just need to habitually "dwell on it" a bit more instead of taking it for granted as our natural born right.

The more we focus on How Much We Have and frequently point that out to each other, the more we learn To See Value in Everything, the more we should be able to come from a Place of Abundance With-In.

We already live in a physical place of abundance (on earth) and its time that we need to respect it's resources (including human resources) more.

So I'm looking at your globe and I'm thinking I know this! A smile crept across my mouth as I remembered TRYING to do a blog post on Cat! I always loved his music and still do! Thanks for this memory. I pulled him up on youtube and now will be listening to him as I continue riding the peace train through the blogosphere.